STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Penn State on Friday withdrew its recognition of Beta Theta Pi, the fraternity where a student from New Jersey died after a fall earlier this month.
The decision comes on the same day Braxton Becker, the fraternity’s house manager, was charged with 10 felony and five misdemeanor counts for selling marijuana and drug paraphernalia, according to a report on PennLive.com. The drug charges stem from an investigation that was underway before the student’s death.
Timothy Piazza, 19, of Readington Township in Hunterdon County, died on Feb. 4 after a fall at the fraternity where he was pledging. He was found right away, but an ambulance was not called for nearly 12 hours.
In the days that followed his death, the university announced it will develop an “aggressive timeline” to address “growing allegations of misconduct in these organizations, including hazing and sexual assault,” promising “significant changes in social policies and practices for these groups.”
It also suspended alcohol from being served at fraternity and sorority gatherings, a suspension that has now been extended through the end of the spring semester, which ends in May.
Police probe hazing, drinking in Penn State death
The revocation of Beta Theta Pi’s campus charter is for at least five years, and could be permanent after the completion of the criminal and university investigations underway. The decision was supported by the fraternity’s national headquarters, according to Penn State.
“We cannot suitably convey the heartbreak we feel for the family and friends who are grieving the loss of Tim Piazza,” said Damon Sims, Penn State’s vice president for Student Affairs. “The information available to us about the actions that led to Tim’s death is deeply disturbing, and no sanction or restriction the university can levy is equal to the gravity of his death or the circumstances which we believe led to it.”
The university announced all pledging has been suspended “until the university is assured that effective and credible plans are in place to end hazing,” according to a news release.
Penn State also announced several changes, some that will come into force once the alcohol ban is lifted. These include:
- No hard liquor at social events, only beer and wine, if alcohol is permitted
- No attendance at indoor or outdoor social events at chapter houses in excess of the legal occupancy limits stated for the facility
- Bartenders certified through the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board’s Responsible Alcohol Management Program at all social events at which alcohol is served
- Effective monitoring at social events to prevent underage and excessive drinking
- Probation and immediate revocation of recognition for failure to follow requirements.
Members of the university’s Interfraternity Council executive board, including council president Alex Frederick, announced Wednesday they were voluntarily stepping down, according to The Daily Collegian, the university’s newspaper.
“It was the opinion of those officers that their credibility was compromised and would not be in the best interest of the IFC to continue their term,” Michael Cavallaro, IFC vice president for communications, said in the statement.
“The values and purposes aspired to by these organizations, which justify the University’s recognition, are too often not the outcomes we see in them,” said Sims. “We are determined, in concert with our student leaders and others, to end any excesses related to the misuse of alcohol, hazing and other activities that are inconsistent with the University’s values and purposes, and should not be commonly found in the experience these groups offer to Penn State’s students.”
The fraternity, which had been suspended for a year in 2009 for alcohol violations for serving minors, had reformed in 2010 as a dry house where no alcohol was to be served.
State College Police Chief John F. Gardner said the department is looking into what role “excessive alcohol consumption and fraternity hazing activity may have played in the death of Timothy Piazza, who was one of 14 pledges who were present for a bid acceptance ceremony at the fraternity.”
The university has worked over the last two years to address issues among its Greek students. In 2015, it announced the creation of a task force following revelations of a secret Facebook page maintained by the Kappa Delta Rho chapter that contained nude photos of unconscious women.
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